Modular system of roof heater shingles

ABSTRACT

A modular system of sheetmetal de-icing shingles and valley sections for preventing the buildup of ice at the eaves of a roof has fine heater wires arranged in a trapezoid configuration on the under surface of the shingles, the shorter parallel side at the top, and a longer parallel side at the bottom, the nonparallel sides running up and down the roof from a point receiving heat from the building to a point adjacent the roof&#39;&#39;s edge. The wires are covered on the undersurface with a first layer of adhesive coated metal foil tape and a second layer of material nonconductive to heat and electricity. The shingles at their roof-end edge are bent back on themselves for gripping electrical harness clips and then formed in a depending drip edge and harness concealing flange. The electrical supply wires covered with protective insulation in the harness are supplied attached to each shingle and of such length as to reach an appropriate point in the next shingle. Weatherproof, snap action, wire splicers are supplied for the ends of each wire for quick electrical connection, all wiring being concealed behind the drip flange and supported by clips. The shingles are locked to one another at each side and secured together by rivets to assure good ground connections. Shingles are provided for each end of a row furnished with connections for a ground wire and the connection to the house circuit is furnished with an indicator light and the wiring supplied with a thermostatic switch and suitable fuses.

United States Patent Norman MODULAR SYSTEM OF ROOF HEATER SHINGLES [72] Inventor: Victor B. Norman, 12 Barringer Rd.,

Ilion, NY. 13357 [22] Filed: Sept. 23, 1971 [21] Appl. N0.: 183,086

521 US. Cl. ..219/213, 165/47, 219/538, 219/553 51 Int. Cl. ...H05b 1/00 [58] Field of Search ..219/201, 213, 345, 536, 538, 219/553; 165/47; 126/271.1

Primary Examiner-C. L. Albritton Attorney-Bruns & Jenney [5 7] ABSTRACT A modular system of sheetmetal de-icing shingles and 151 3,691,343 [451 Sept. 12, 1972 valley sections for preventing the buildup of ice at the eaves of a roof has fine heater wires arranged in a trapezoid configuration on the under surface of the shingles, the shorter parallel side at the top, and a longer parallel side at the bottom, the non-parallel sides running up and down the roof from a point receiving heat from the building to a point adjacent the roofs edge. The wires are covered on the undersurface with a first layer of adhesive coated metal foil tape and a second layer of material nonconductive to heat and electricity. The shingles at their roof-end edge are bent back on themselves for gripping electrical harness clips and then formed in a depending drip edge and harness concealing flange. The electrical supply wires covered with protective insulation in the harness are supplied attached to each shingle and of such length as to reach an appropriate point in the next shingle. Weatherproof, snap action, wire splicers are supplied for the ends of each wire for quick electrical connection, all wiring being concealed behind the drip flange and supported by clips. The shingles are locked to one another-at each side and secured together by rivets to assure good ground connections. Shingles are provided for each end of a row furnished with connections for a ground wire and the connection to the house circuit is furnished with an indicator light and the wiring supplied with a thermostatic switch and suitable fuses.

4 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures PATENIEIJSEP 13 1912 saw 1 or 3 :JJJEDI- INVENTOR. VICTOR B. NORMAN ATTORNEYJ PATENTED SEP 12 nsrz snmzora ATTORNEYJ PATENTEDSEPIZYIBTZ 3.691.343

sumanra' v INVENTOR, VICTOR B; NORMAN MODULAR SYSTEM OF ROOF HEATER SHINGLES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to sheetmetal shingles for roofs along the eaves portions to prevent ice forming and water backup to cause leaks, a complete system of shingles and valley sections being provided, each with its own low wattage heater and with connections to an electrical-circuit modular harness.

Leak causing ice buildup in roofs for houses and v other buildings is caused by heat lost from the house through the roof melting snow on the roof. The melted snow runs down the roof past the so-called thermocline where the roof no longer receives heat from the house and is frozen when it runs over the eaves which are exposed underneath to the weather.

Prior art roof-heater shingles to melt the ice built up over the eaves have been provided with high wattage heater wires ontheir under surface which are run back and forth up and down the roof or are run in a serpentine path along the width of the shingle. The connecting wires between such shingles are difficult to connect to the heating wires during installation and usually the connecting wires are merely stapled to the underside of the eaves without protection from the weather. The high wattage wires are wasteful of heat and present a tire risk unless properly maintained from year to year.

Other means for electrically melting through the ice at the eaves comprise running heater wires ina zig-zag pattern along the roof edge in the fall and removing them in the spring. Such wires must be supported on the roof and such supports are usually torn out by falling ice and snow and must be replaced in inclement weather.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention contemplates providing the roofer with a complete modular system with the various kinds of shingles and valley sections, each with connecting wire portions which can be easily and quickly coupled during installation. The shingles and valley sections are of metal, preferably aluminum, and each has at least one loop of fine enamel wire secured to the underside of the aluminum sheet by a strip of adhesive coated foil for reflecting the heat upward. Below the foil, the wire, and preferably the major portion of the metal sheet there is supplied an undercoat of a polycarbonate material which is electrically nonconductive and resistant to the conduction of heat, such as sheet Tedlar, secured by adhesive.

The shingles have their heating element loops arranged to outline a trapezoid with a shorter parallel side adjacent the top and a longer parallel side at the bottom. The two nonparallel sides are longer and extend from top to bottom at a small angle. This supplies less heat at the top where heat from the house helps warm the roof and more heat at the roof edge which is more exposed to the cold weather. The nonparallel sides form heated paths for water to run toward the roof edge. A majority of the shingles have two such trapezoidal loops interconnected and arranged side-byside. Some shingles, however, have only one trapezoidal loop at one side or the other, the other half of the shingle being left with no heating element so that that side may be cut partially away at roof ends or cut at an angle where the roof eaves meet an angle in the roof requiring a valley section. The valley sections require a U-shaped loop because of their long and narrow shape.

The heating element ends are each connected to different connecting wires by wrapping the heating element around the bare connecting wire and secured thereto by electrically conductive epoxy adhesive. The connecting wires are each insulated except where they are connected to the heating elements and a shrink sleeve is provided for that connection.

Each connecting wire extends on either side of the element end connection for a predetermined distance and a now available snap action wire splicer is provided for each wire. Between the heater element connection and the splicer the connecting wires are secured together into a cable by another layer of insulation. The length of this cable is determined by choosing a point along the lower edge of each shingle where the splicers are joined to the connecting wires of the next shingle, the cable at one side of each shingle ending at the chosen point and the cable at the other side of the shingle extending beyond the shingle a distance to reach the same point on the next shingle, the connecting wire ends in each cable being staggered so that the splicers are spaced.

Each double loop shingle is provided at one side with a turned up male coupling flange and at the other side with a female flange formed by turning a flange up and then turning it down again alongside the turned up portion. The shingles thus may be locked together and pop-rivets are provided at two points along each flange so that all the shingles in a row are locked together and firmly connected for grounding. The valley sections are similarly provided with rivet holes for rivet connection with end shingles and the end shingles, having only one heater loop are similarly provided with rivet holes and a single male or female flange according to which end it is adapted for.

It is contemplated that each row of shingles be grounded at each end so that full panel (double loop) and right and left end (single loop or half panel) shingles and valley sections are provided equipped with three wire cables extending therefrom, these shingles and sections having the third or ground wire secured thereto.

Each shingle is bent back on itself at the roof end edge and then bent downward to form a drip flange. Bent sheetmetal hardware clips are provided having one end insertable in the bent back edge of the shingle, the other end of the clips being formed in a loop through which the cables are led. After the cables of adjacent shingles and valley sections have been connected the connecting wires are secured in place by the clips behind the pendant drip flange. The ground wire from each end of each row of shingles is connected to ground and the connecting wires from the three wire cable at one end of the row is connected in circuit with the house current.

The circuit to all the rows of shingles includes a DPST on-and-off switch with an indicator light connected to light up when the switch is closed and also includes the usual fuse. A further fail-safe is provided by a thermostatic external switch which breaks the circuit when the weather is warm BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a house roof with rows of shingles embodying the invention secured in place along the eaves;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of a typical row of shingles with heater and connecting wires indicated, portions being broken away to show connecting wire splicers and a connection between a heating element and its'connecting wires;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 3- 3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary perspective view of a row of shingles including a valley section;

FIG. 5 is a further enlarged, fragmentary, inverted sectional view on the line 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are perspective views of connecting wire harness clips shown in FIG. 5;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are further enlarged, fragmentary sectional views on the lines 8-8 and 9-9 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 is a further enlarged, fragmentary sectional view on the line 10-10 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged, fragmentary roof edge view of a shingle, partly in section, as viewed in the direction of the arrows 1 1-11 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram of the electrical system of the roof heater shingles shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 13 is an end view of one of the cable splicers shown in FIG. 1 1 prior to its application.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, a portion of a house roof 10 is shown roofed with conventional shingles 11 except at the eaves 12 where the exposed portions of a row of 1 electrically heatable aluminum shingles l3, hereinafter described, cover the roof where it extends over the house wall and over the eaves. The roof 10 includes a gable 10a requiring a metal valley section 14 which is also electrically heatable.

In FIG. 2 a row of shingles 13 is shown terminating at one end in a shingle 13a and at the other end in a shingle 13b. Each shingle can be heated by a loop of thin, enameled, resistance wire 15 secured to its under surface. The loops outline trapezoidal areas, shown in broken lines, having their shorter parallel sides at the top and longer parallel sides at the bottom. Their nonparallel sides are inclined at a small angle to the vertical sides of the shingles. Shingles 13 have two such trapezoidal loops and shingles 13a and 13b have only one, the unheated portions. of the latter outlined in broken lines may be cutaway as needed, such as shown in FIG. 4, for the shingles 13a and 13b which adjoin the valley section 14 or for shingle 13b at the roof end in FIG. 1.

The shingles are, preferably, 3 feet from top to bottom and of less width for ease in handling. The heater loops of wire 15 do not extend to the top of the shingles and extend to a point adjacent the roof edge, as shown, the heated portion of the shingles being substantially that portion of the shingles not covered by paper shingles 11 but extending well up into the area of roof heated by the house.

The wires 15 are secured to the aluminum shingle by a heat reflecting metal foil tape 16 having an adhesive coating for adhering to the shingle 13, as shown in FIG. 8. The major portion of the shingle under surface and the tape 16, undersurface, as shown in FIG. 5, is covered by a'sheet of Tedlar 17, which is electrically nonconductive and has very low heat conductivity.

As best seen in FIG. 3 the lower portion of each shingle is bent back on itself at 18 to form a double flange at the roof edge and is then bent downwards again to form a drip flange 19. Hardware clips 20 and 21, shown respectively in FIGS. 7 and 6, have a flange 22 which may be slid between the layers of the roof end portions 18 of the shingles, and are shaped to support the portions of the connecting wire harness 23, best seen in FIG. 5, behind the drip flange 19.

Each shingle 13 has a turned up male flange 25 at one side, the left as shown in FIG. 10, and a female or double flange 26 turned up at the other side to lock the shingles together. The shingles 13a and 13b have only one turned up flange, male or female according to whether it is adapted for use at one end or the other of a row. Each interlocking joint between shingles is provided at two points with aligned holes to receive a pop rivet 27, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 10. The interlocking joints are adapted to be knocked over and flattened against the shingles at their upper portion which is adapted to be covered by conventional shingles, as shown in FIG. 2. I

The wires 15 are provided with insulation at 28 at each end of each loop, as best seen in FIG. 5, and these ends are joined to the connecting wires L1 and L2 as shown in FIG. 9. The insulation 29 of the connecting wire is removed for a short distance, as shown, and the stripped end of wire 15 is wound around the No. 14 connecting wire L and the resulting coil is secured by electrically conductive epoxy cement at 30. A shrink sleeve 31 is then slid into place over the joint as shown. This operation is performed at the factory.

Referring again to FIG. 2, it will be understood that each shingle 13 is supplied to the roofer with a short connecting wire end 32 extending from each tube 31 to a selected point, shown as the approximate center, along the edge of the shingle, and a longer connecting wire end 33 extending beyond the edge of the shingle so as to adapt it to reach the same selected point, shown as the center, of the next shingle when the shingles are interlocked. Each longer wire 33 is provided with a now-available connector or splicer 34, shown in detail in FIGS. 11 and 13, which is safe, weatherproof, solderless and snap-acting for easy connection upon installation. Referring to FIG. 13, the insulated wire ends 32 and 33 (FIG. 11) are inserted in short holes from opposite ends and then, using a plier-like tool, the flap 35 is pressed down to lock around the splicer 34. A metal plate 36, having slots 37 therein, which is embedded in the plastic resin of the splicer body is thereby pressed down so that the slots engage the wires.

Since each end of a row of shingles is intended to be grounded, each full panel shingle 13, and each half panel right shingle 13a and half panel left shingle 13b is also available in a form with three-wire harness connection 23a, shown in FIG. 5, using the clip 21 which has a hole therethrough for a bolt or rivet 38 securing the ground wire G to the shingle flange 19. The wire G and connecting wires 33a-33a are furnished in a length specified by the roofer as is the wire G shown at the right in FIG. 2.

The valley sections 14, FIGS. 1 and 4, are also provided in two-wire and three-wire harness connection form and, as shown in FIG. 4, are provided at 39 and 40 with holes for pop-rivet grounding to adjacent shingles. The resistance wire is looped in a U-shaped configuration and it is to be understood that each valley section has heater wire to connecting wire connections complete with shrink tubes 31 as shown in FIG. 5 and a projecting wire harness with connecting wires therein adapted to be connected with splicers 34. The valley sections may be covered at their upper ends with paper valley shingles as shown in FIG. 1 or may be left exposed as shown in FIG. 4.

As indicated at the left in FIG. 2, each row of shingles has an end shingle provided with a three-wire harness having a ground and two connecting wires. The connecting wires are led to parallel connections at 41 with the electrical current supply system, shown diagrammatically in FIG. 12, each row of heater shingles being represented by a resistance 42 in the diagram. A thermal switch 43 in the connection with the power supply is provided outside the house, the switch being adapted to render the heating system inoperative at a chosen temperature, such as 35 or 40 F.

, Either inside or outside the house, a double pole single throw switch 44 is provided, an indicator light 45 being connected between the lines as shown at the switch. The supply side of the switch is connected to the 60 cycle 120 volt house power 46, the connection being appropriately fused at 47.

The single resistance wire 15 used in forming the heating loops in actual embodiments of the shingles shown in the drawings and described above is 0.008 inch in diameter, 0.009 inch including the enamel coat, require less wattage than the prior art heavy wire heaters, even when the latter are used with metal shingles. In systems actually tested, the power dissipation rate may be calculated per linear length of the eaves, at approximately 7 watts per foot, as against the 65 watts per square foot typical of the prior art shingles.

lclaim l. A modular system of metal heater shingles for installation along the caves of a building roof for preventing ice buildup, comprising: full panel shingles, half panel shingles and valley sections each heatable by at least one loop of fine enamel resistance heater wire secured to its underside, the full panel shingles having heater wires under the major portion of their area, the half panel shingles having heater wires under substantially half their areas at one side and the other side free of heater wires, the valley sections having heater wires under their depressed center portions; each shingle having the ends of its heater loops electrically connected to insulated connecting wires supported by the shingle at its roof-end edge, the connecting wires extending in one direction beyond the side of the shingle a predetermined distance adapting it to extend to the ends of the connecting wires of a contiguous shingle extending in the other direction and having snap action splicer means for quick connection of the wires; each shingle having a turned down drip flange at its roof-end edge, the connecting wires being adapted to be supported behind the drip flange; each shingle having a turned up male flange at one side and a turned up and then turned down female flange at its other side adapted to cooperate with the male flange of the contiguous shingle, the male and female flanges adapted to be secured together by metallic rivets for grounding; and full panel and half panel shingles provided with three wire cables adapting them for use at the end of a row for connection to an electrical supply circuit and to ground.

2. The modular system of shingles defined in claim 1' wherein the heater wire loops of the shingles outline at least one trapazoidal areas having a shorter parallel side at the top of the shingle and a longer parallel side at the roof-edge bottom of the shingle for providing more heat at the bottom of the shingle, the nonparallel sides of the loop being at a small angle to the sides of the shingle for providing hot paths for the runoff of melted snow, the resistance wire of the loop being of a diameter less than 10 one thousandths of an inch for economy in the electrical supply, the heater wire being secured to the shingle undersurface by a metal foil tape secured to the shingle by adhesive for reflecting heat upward, and the foil tape and a major portion of the shingle undersurface being undercoated with a sheet of a material which is electrically nonconductive and having low heat conductivity for insulation.

3. The modular system of shingles defined in claim 1 wherein each shingle is bent back on itself at its lower end to form a double flange and is then bent downward to provide a drip flange, each shingle being provided with connecting wire supporting clips having a sheetmetal flange portion inserted in the double flange and a pendant wire supporting portion, whereby the connecting wires are supported behind the drip flange.

4. A roof-heating shingle for use over the caves of a building, comprising: a rectangular metal sheet longer than the caves and adapted at either side for locking to an adjacent shingle, the sheet having at least one loop of a single strand of enameled resistance wire of a diameter of less than 0.010 inch diameter secured to its undersurface, the loop outlining a trapezoidal area having its shorter parallelside adjacent the top of the shingle, its longer parallel side adjacent the bottom of the shingle, and its non-parallel sides at a small angle to the sides of the shingle, a strip of metal foil secured to the under surface of the sheet below the enameled wire, a sheet of electrically nonconductive material having low heat conductivity secured to and underlying a major portion of the undersurface of the shingle, and the enameled wire and the foil strip, each end of the loop being electrically connected to an insulated connecting wire adapted to be connected in an electrical supply circuit, whereby the shingle is adapted to release more heat at the roof edge over the eaves and less heat at the top of the shingle partially heated by building heat and to heat two paths for the runoff of melted snow. 

1. A modular system of metal heater shingles for installation along the eaves of a building roof for preventing ice buildup, comprising: full panel shingles, half panel shingles and valley sections each heatable by at least one loop of fine enamel resistance heater wire secured to its underside, the full panel shingles having heater wires under the major portion of their area, the half panel shingles having heater wires under substantially half their areas at one side and the other side free of heater wires, the valley sections having heater wires under their depressed center portions; each shingle having the ends of its heater loops electrically connected to insulated connecting wires supported by the shingle at its roof-end edge, the connecting wires extending in one direction beyond the side of the shingle a predetermined distance adapting it to extend to the ends of the connecting wires of a contiguous shingle extending in the other direction and having snap action splicer means for quick connection of the wires; each shingle having a turned down drip flange at its roof-end edge, the connecting wires being adapted to be supported behind the drip flange; each shingle having a turned up male flange at one side and a turned up and then turned down female flange at its other side adapted to cooperate with the male flange of the contiguous shingle, the male and female flanges adapted to be secured together by metallic rivets for grounding; and full panel and half panel shingles provided with three wire cables adapting them for use at the end of a row for connection to an electrical supply circuit and to ground.
 2. The modular system of shingles defined in claim 1 wherein the heater wire loops of the shingles outline at least one trapazoidal areas having a shorter parallel side at the top of the shingle and a longer parallel side at the roof-edge bottom of the shingle for providing more heat at the bottom of the shingle, the nonparallel sides of the loop being at a small angle to the sides of the shingle for providing hot paths for the runoff of melted snow, the resistance wire of the loop being of a diameter less than 10 one thousandths of an inch for economy in the electrical supply, the heater wire being secured to the shingle undersurface by a metal foil tape secured to the shingle by adhesive for reflecting heat upward, and the foil tape and a major portion of the shingle undersurface being undercoated with a sheet of a material which is electrically nonconductive and having low heat conductivity for insulation.
 3. The modular system of sHingles defined in claim 1 wherein each shingle is bent back on itself at its lower end to form a double flange and is then bent downward to provide a drip flange, each shingle being provided with connecting wire supporting clips having a sheetmetal flange portion inserted in the double flange and a pendant wire supporting portion, whereby the connecting wires are supported behind the drip flange.
 4. A roof-heating shingle for use over the eaves of a building, comprising: a rectangular metal sheet longer than the eaves and adapted at either side for locking to an adjacent shingle, the sheet having at least one loop of a single strand of enameled resistance wire of a diameter of less than 0.010 inch diameter secured to its undersurface, the loop outlining a trapezoidal area having its shorter parallel side adjacent the top of the shingle, its longer parallel side adjacent the bottom of the shingle, and its non-parallel sides at a small angle to the sides of the shingle, a strip of metal foil secured to the under surface of the sheet below the enameled wire, a sheet of electrically nonconductive material having low heat conductivity secured to and underlying a major portion of the undersurface of the shingle, and the enameled wire and the foil strip, each end of the loop being electrically connected to an insulated connecting wire adapted to be connected in an electrical supply circuit, whereby the shingle is adapted to release more heat at the roof edge over the eaves and less heat at the top of the shingle partially heated by building heat and to heat two paths for the runoff of melted snow. 